California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Hall, F060162 (Cal. App. 2011):
In Chimel v. California (1969) 395 U.S. 752, the court explained the "proper extent" of a search incident to arrest. (Id. at p. 762.) First, to effect the arrest in a safe manner, "it is reasonable for the arresting officer to search the person arrested in order to remove any weapons that the latter might seek to use in order to resist arrest or effect his escape." (Id. at p. 763.) Second, the police may conduct a "search for and seize any evidence on the arrestee's person in order to prevent its concealment or destruction." (Ibid.) "[T]he area into which an arrestee might reach in order to grab a weapon or
Page 14
evidentiary items," i.e., the "area 'within his immediately control,' " is "governed by a like rule." (Ibid.)
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.